UPDATE: City Opera's plans for an opera ----

---- based on Walt Disney's life have been scrapped. The director, Gerald Mortier - who also served as the opera's general manager, has left his position at City Opera and the company has stopped all projects Mortier was involved in. In the end this may not be all bad news for Disney fans. The book that the opera was reportedly going to be based on, The Perfect American by Peter Stephen Jung, has been described as controversial at best. The story is around an Austrian cartoonist's love/hate relationship with Disney.

Disney considering UK acquisitions  ----

---- as the company wants to continue its global expansion, Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said. MORE….

The Sleeping Beauty castle walk-through ----

---- reopens at Disneyland in December 2008 after a seven-year hiatus. Visitors will walk past a series of forced-perspective dioramas featuring deceptively simple special effects that tell the story of “Sleeping Beauty.”

Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter, who shepherded the walk-through restoration, understands that the best new Disneyland attraction is an old attraction conceived by Walt Disney himself. Resurrecting the past plays into one of the Anaheim theme park’s core assets: nostalgia. “I still have very strong memories of taking a journey through this castle,” said Baxter, Disneyland ’s chief Imagineer. MORE….

Disney’s first venture in Hawaii ----

---- will add 830 hotel and vacation time-share rooms, a fantasy-laden water play area and an 18,000 square-foot spa to the rapidly expanding Ko Olina resort on West Oahu. It'll be the first such complex for Disney away from a theme park, combining a 350-room hotel with 480 vacation villas on one of Ko Olina's four man-made lagoons. MORE….

Some pics here…. (from All Ears.net)

Everyone Gets In at the Kid’s Price ----

---- from January 6 - April 30, 2009, purchase a 2 night stay or longer at one of the Disneyland Resort or Good Neighbor Hotels, and include a 3 day or longer Disneyland Park Pass in your package, and all adults (10 and older) pay the same price as the kids on their park passes. MORE….

John Lassater named Innovator of the Year ----

---- by the Hollywood Reporter. His Pixar Studios is batting a thousand when it comes to box office hits. With Bolt! we’ll get to see the first film that was almost totally done under his influence at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Lasseter has become not only the most prominent successor to the Nine Old Men, but arguably the most important figure in animation since Disney himself. MORE….

DL & DCA refurbishment updates ----

---- the walls around the Plaza Pavilion are scheduled to come down on November 7th, so we’ll finally see something nice in that corner of Main Street. It’s a Small World will now re-open on November 29th, as opposed to the previously scheduled November 21^st. Finally for Disneyland Park , Fantasy Faire Gifts over at the Princess Fantasy Faire will be closed from October 27th, through November 21st.

Over at DCA, the Midway Games close on Monday for their conversion over to the new Games of the Boardwalk. Both the Games & Mickey’s Fun Wheel will re-open on April 24th, 2009 . Burger Invasion is now scheduled to be closed all the way through May 7th, 2010 ! That pretty much confirms that they’re doing much more than just ripping out the kitchen, & are probably re-theming it to the Beer Garden during this time.

“Take one ToT and call me in the morning” ----

---- Denise Mooty suffers from abdominal adhesions which she claims are helped by riding the Hollywood Tower of Terror repeatedly. Ms. Mooty has been going to the park every Saturday for the last three and a half years and riding TOT repeatedly all day using a guest assistance card (which in her case allows her to go to the front of the line) to ride without a wait all day. She claims that she normally would need six surgeries a year to relieve her condition but states that she has only needed one a year since she has been riding TOT. Disney first sought to limit her riding and now has banned her from the park reportedly due to profanity and trespassing. Mooty is suing Disney for denying her medial needs. Disney is reportedly willing to hear an appeal but is concerned about Mootys’ potty mouth. Kinda sounds like a bit from the old ‘Ripley’s’, huh?

The upcoming Disney animated film "Bolt"  ----

---- features a feisty canine that gets lost and makes his long journey home with the help of two world-wise pals. It's the kind of classic Disney parable that could just as well be told of the studio's once-revered animation division. A measure of how well Disney succeeds at reclaiming its heritage and how the two animation cultures coexist will be tested when "Bolt" opens in theaters Nov. 21. Disney's new computer-animated film is the first entirely overseen by Pixar's creative guru, John Lasseter, and tech whiz Ed Catmull, who took charge of Disney Animation after the acquisition. MORE….

After the amazing reviews and praise it received  ----

---- it should not come as a surprise that Disney has reportedly decided to push for an Oscar Nomination for Pixar’s WALL-E in both the Best Picture and Best Animated Film categories. Back in 1991 Beauty & The Beast was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award and was the main impetus behind the creation of the Best Animated Film category in the following season. MORE….

Tinker Bell is taking flight! Southwest Airlines ----

---- has decorated one of their Boeing 737’s, named Tinker Bell One, and will be flying the plane to Tampa International Airport as well as other airports during the next few months. Aboard the flight will be flight attendants wearing Tinker Bell wings as well as giving prizes to passengers who can correctly answer trivia questions about the film "Peter Pan". (Thanks Fireman Dave!)

The Walt Disney Family Museum website ----

---- was updated again last week and they’ve added quite a few real treats. The biggest is a special feature that follows Walt Disney through the 1964 World’s Fair. Also included in the update is a report from Laura Surma on the progress of the brick and mortar Walt Disney Family Museum set to open in 2009 at the Presidio in San Francisco , CA. MORE….

Disney bet is that toys inspired by franchises ----

---- like "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical" or linked to the Internet will drive cash-strapped parents to its brands during the crucial holiday season. Disney is going to market this year with a crop of holiday toys based on its popular brands at a wide range of prices and with an emphasis on toys that offer online and offline play. MORE….

Disney will have a major presence ----

---- in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Buzz Lightyear of "Toy Story" becomes a big balloon, and And Miley Cyrus will sing "I Thought I Lost You" on a float carrying characters from the new animated movie "Bolt."

The global economic downturn hit Disney ----

---- harder and faster than Wall Street expected, with the company on Thursday reporting a sharp decline in hotel bookings and softness in advertising revenue at its networks. "Consumer confidence is the lowest we've seen in over three decades, and even the best product out there is feeling the effect," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told analysts on a conference call. MORE….

The most expensive clothing sold by Disney ----

---- six years ago was a $75 sweatshirt embossed with a mug shot of Mickey Mouse. By Magic Kingdom decree, home furnishings were required to exhibit at least one Disney character, leading to children’s play rugs ($65, in Pluto) and nightlights ($9.95, in Winnie the Pooh). Disney still peddles all those things. But now the company also sells $3,900 designer wedding gowns — no characters in sight — and women’s cashmere sweaters “inspired by Tinker Bell.” Interior design offerings include $2,800 leather club chairs and $6,000 chandeliers patterned after the Art Deco décor in Mr. Disney’s former office. One of the company’s new products: couture soap. Welcome to Disney, the “lifestyle brand.” MORE….

According to the UK ’s Daily Mail ----

---- Russell Brand set to land role as Jack Sparrow's brother in next Pirates Of The Caribbean. MORE….

Kmart has a full cast of Disney characters ----

---- to help promote a massive seven-week holiday giveaway. The chain's "Disney Wish & You Could Win" sweeps lets one weekly grand-prize winner choose from among four "Amazing Disney Experiences": a trip to attend a Disney Broadway show in New York; a trip to a Disney on Ice performance; a bedroom makeover complete with hand-painted mural, furniture set and $1,000 in Disney merchandise; or a home entertainment package of TV, Blu-ray DVD player and Disney film collection. Each weekly drawing also delivers 15 $200 Kmart gift cards, 143 licensed games or collectibles, and 143 $5 store gift card.  MORE….

2008:

Disneyland , Walt Disney World,

Disney Movie Premiere & Other  

Sep 26 – Nov 9

International Food and Wine Festival – EPCOT

Oct 31 – Mar 9

Campfire on de' Bayou - storytime and sing-along held seasonally behind Port Orleans Riverside 's Ol' Man Island Fishin' Hole. Sunday and Thursday nights.

Nov 7 - 9

Festival of the Masters – Downtown Disney - WDW

Various

Nov 10 – Dec 19

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Call (407) W-DISNEY (934-7639) to order

Nov 21 – Jan 4

Christmas at Disneyland and California Adventure

Nov 26

Bolt (in 3D!) - opens nationally

Various

Nov 28 – Dec 30

Holidays Around the World – EPCOT

Call (407) 939-3463 for Candlelight Dining

Dec 5 & 6

Cruise with Jim Dec 7 - 11

Special Artist Appearance with Jim Shore

Dec 25

Bedtime Stories – opens nationally

2009

Disneyland , Walt Disney World,

Disney Movie Premiere & Other

Jan 17 - 18

NFFC California Show & Sale

March 7 - 12

Pirate Cruise on the Disney Wonder

March 18 – May 31

Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

June

UP – opens nationally

June 26 - 28

Disney's Pin Celebration 2009, The Museum of

Pin-tiquities. EPCOT. Registration will open for this event in February 2009 on DisneyPins.com

July

NFFC 25^th Anniversary California Convention

Sep 13 - 17

Disney Vacation Club's Member Cruise 2009. Reservations begin on November 2, 2008 by calling Member Services at 800-800-9800. Visit the DisneyVacationClub.com member website for more details.

2008:

Paris, Hong Kong & Tokyo

April 15, 2008 – April 14, 2009

Tokyo Disney’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

Oct 4 – Nov 2

Disney’s Spooktacular Halloween - Paris

Nov. 7 –Dec 25, 2

‘Christmas Fantasy’ – Tokyo Disneyland

‘Harborside Christmas’ – Tokyo Disneysea

Nov 8 – Jan 6

Disney’s Fairytale Christmas - Paris

Nov 15 – Dec 25,

‘Disney’s Sparkling Christmas’ – Hong Kong

2009:

Paris, Hong Kong & Tokyo

 Jan. – Feb.

Chinese New Year Celebration

 Mar

St. David Welsh Festival

Mar17

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration